My friends poke fun at me because i’m “into shrooms.” Do they have a point? Yes, but no!
Most people I encounter while out photographing/foraging just walk past me and we both say “hello!”, or are genuinely interested in what I’m doing - if I have one, showing them a chanterelle or two is always a good way to start a wholesome and insightful conversation :)
I know this topic is aimed more towards discussing light hearted teasing, but… If someone is genuinely being made fun of/being harassed for having an appreciation and love for nature, I find it really sad. Perhaps the person doing it just doesn’t understand it, and isn’t able to, I don’t know - see things on a deeper level? Anyways, if someone is doing that to you, remember that they are dumb :)
Thank you.
This can be tricky if you’re partially/fully deaf, lol! And then you have to rely on Merlin… :P In all seriousness, this is one of the reasons I count audio observations on my lifelist.
I’d say this counts for any major city, if you do anything a little out of the norm in a highly populated area, I’m sure you’ll be noticed for it. That being said, I’ve been birding in Lansing and Rochester and people there have pretty much just ignored me.
What an oddly specific standard… did they see Big Year and think all birders are like that one pretentious dude?
Not in person, but every once in a while I’ve encountered someone online who seems shocked, almost offended someone could possibly like something as boring as birding. Like they actively feel the need to point out how boring they think it is to make you feel bad for liking it. It’s astonishing how rude people can be sometimes.
This, my interest for insects caused a lot more scoffing than birds.
Being fascinated by birds is not that unusual even among non-naturalists, but there’s always been a certain stigma around insects. Showing excitement over something that normally make people squirm is interpreted as a bad sign by many.
What is this ridiculousness (on their part, of course, not yours). As long as no one is pointing a camera at them without consent, why should it matter to them?
I mean, as I’m more into insects and other inverts, I’m used to weird looks and the occasional comment (especially now that I us a proper camera with an odd looking diffuser I made myself from a pizza box), but birding should be a completely normal thing to do even from the “average person”'s POV…
Try telling them about how cool lichens are while you’re bent over some random wall or crouch next to a lamppost. I’ve learned to ignore the (probably kinda justified) dog-pee comments. I mean, I’m not touching anything.
